Contemplating Christmas Kisses
by coolmarauders
Summary: When invited to go to the Evans' house, Troy didn't think that he and Ryan would get to know each other, or at least know each other's mouths as much as he did. And it got him to thinking...


**Disclaimer:** I own nothing from HSM.

**Author's Note:** Happy Holidays, everyone! This fic was written for the Secret Santa Fic Exchange, and it was written for OCP. This is the first male/male slash I have ever written, and along with that it is the first Tryan. I really hope you like it OCP – and everyone else of course. Constructive criticism is definitely welcome!

* * *

Ah, Christmas. The time when the snow falls merrily, carolers sing their hearts out, and shopping rages on. It is the time when silly love grows – or when real love appears.

For Troy Bolton, it was the time when he was beginning to feel the pangs of unrequited love, after breaking up with Gabriella just a few weeks beforehand. There was just something wrong with them together, at least as a girlfriend and boyfriend couple. He loved singing, dancing, and acting with Gabriella, but kissing her and being romantic with her? It just did not feel right to him. When they kissed, there was nothing special about it – it was just some girl whose lips were touching his. It was nothing different from any of the other – very few – girls that he had kissed before.

But since they had had such a great time in the musical together, Gabriella and Troy remained friends. They hung out at each other's houses, helped each other with homework (well, Gabriella mostly helped Troy) and goofed around when they felt like it. That's why it was no surprise when Gabriella asked him if he wanted to go to the Evans' house after school, to hang out with Sharpay and Ryan.

"Sure. Sounds good," said Troy, smiling at her.

"Great! Sharpay said that she'll pick us up in front of the school," said Gabriella, just as happy and perky as ever.

"See you then," Troy said as he walked away, waving to her. Hanging out with Sharpay and Ryan after school sounded fun, but that wasn't the only reason that he agreed to Gabriella's invite. He and Ryan had been becoming closer than he had thought that they would be over the course of the year. It turned out that they had a lot in common – singing and dancing, of course, but they also detested most subjects in school, liked to play video games, and loved watching stupid movies. Sometimes, if Chad was busy, he would call Ryan up and they would hang out for a while. They were not to they point where they were what Sharpay and Gabriella would call "best friends" but Troy definitely liked being with him, especially as of late.

The rest of the day passed quickly, and as the last bell rang, Troy bolted out of the door and raced to his locker. He was very eager to find Gabriella and going to the Evans' house. He shoved all of his books in his backpack, so he could at least have an excuse to do homework if things got really boring, and headed to the front of the school. As usual, Gabriella was already waiting for him, tapping her foot impatiently as she looked around the mass of gossiping high school students.

"Gabriella!" Troy yelled over the noise. She whipped her head around, looking for the person who had shouted her name, and eventually saw Troy.

"Hey, Troy," she greeted him, smiling again.

"Are Ryan and Sharpay here yet?" he asked.

"Not yet. You know Sharpay, always fashionably late," said Gabriella jokingly.

"That's right," Troy said absent-mindedly.

"Are you okay?" Gabriella asked, concern in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little spacey," said Troy, shaking his head and blinking to clear his head and bring him back to the present time.

"If you're sure," said Gabriella doubtfully.

"I'm fine," he reassured her, rolling his eyes.

"You're not just preoccupied with your new lover?" Gabriella said mischievously

"And who would that be?" asked Troy. He had no idea what she was talking about – he hadn't gone out with anyone since they had broken up.

"Well Ryan of course!" she teased him.

"Yep, he's my 'partner' – but only for science," said Troy.

"Are you sure? You don't spend the night like Sharpay and I?" asked Gabriella, smirking.

"What?" Troy exclaimed.

"Sleepovers! We wear our pretty jammies, do makeovers, and sometimes we play with toys!" Gabriella grinned at Troy's shocked and slightly disgusted facial expression.

"Please tell me you are joking! You and Sharpay?" Troy gasped.

"Did someone say my name?" said a very familiar haughty voice from behind Troy.

"I was just telling Troy about our sleepovers," Gabriella said gleefully.

"We should have another one sometime soon." Sharpay slung her tanned arm over Gabriella's modestly covered shoulders, grinning evilly at Troy and raising one eyebrow. Troy looked over to Ryan for help, but he was smirking as well at his sister and her best friend.

"Let's get going," Sharpay said briskly after a second of bewildered silence. She and her twin led the way to their – her, rather – new pink car.

"You know we were kidding, Troy," said Gabriella teasingly into his ear. "I'm not gay!"

Those words left a small pang in Troy. Gabriella had said them like being gay was a bad thing – Troy knew several – well, two – gay guys, and they were still his friends.

"I mean, I'm not prejudiced or anything, I'm just not gay," Gabriella clarified. Troy sighed, a feeling of relief sweeping over her.

"What is taking you so long?" Sharpay yelled from the driver's seat, poised and ready to go. The two who were lagging behind sped up their pace as to not inflict the rage of Sharpay Evans upon themselves.

"You're driving?" Troy asked.

"She's driving," Ryan said grimly. "Prepare yourself." Either Sharpay did not hear that last comment – Troy thought that her thick hair extensions might have covered her ears somehow – or else she just chose to ignore it for the time being, because there was no outburst of anger or violence from the drama queen. Warily, Troy buckled himself in, and just as soon as the click of the seatbelt was heard, Sharpay sped off, the wind whipping through everyone's hair as they drove faster and faster, going out onto the highway.

"Where do you live?" Troy yelled above the noise of the wind.

"On a big hill," Ryan replied, turning around to face the two in the backseat.

"It's a huge house," Gabriella added.

"You should see our summer home," Ryan scoffed.

"You have a summer home!" squealed Gabriella. "Awesome!"

The conversation ended quickly as Sharpay motioned with one hand for all three of them to shut up. Nobody wanted Sharpay's hands off of the wheel for any reason, so the car remained quiet until they reached their destination.

It took a good twenty or twenty-five minutes just to get to the driveway, and then another fifteen to speed up to the house – and speed Sharpay did. Troy's knuckles were white from gripping the edges of the seat.

"Here we are!" announced Sharpay happily as she opened the door, leaving the car right in the middle of the driveway.

"Aren't you going to put the car in the garage or whatever?" Troy asked.

"No. Someone will do that for me."

Gabriella turned around to look at Troy with her eyebrows raised up high. _See?_ She seemed to want to convey to Troy. After a moment of confusion, Troy looked up at the house. Gabriella had been right – it was huge! It was at least four stories high, with grand staircases and balconies on the outside. The yard, from what Troy could see of it, was incredibly green and trimmed, like it was summer instead of almost Christmas time. The house was regal and imposing; Troy couldn't even imagine living there.

"Don't you decorate for Christmas?" Gabriella asked.

"Not outside," hinted Ryan. Troy had no time to ask what he meant, because Sharpay was already opening the door and barging in loudly. His mouth dropped open in shock as he took in the sight of the mansion. Everything was Christmas-themed: there was holly, tinsel, wreaths, trees everywhere, even mistletoe hanging down from the ceiling. All of the trees were decorated lavishly, covered with glass ornaments. Some, Troy noticed, were decorated the "old-fashioned" way, with popcorn strings and candles instead of lights and glass balls. He heard a giggle of delight from Gabriella and turned to see what she was laughing at.

"Snow!" she cried, pointing upwards. Indeed, there was even fake snow drifting down from the ceiling and falling gently onto everyone's head and shoulders.

"Holy crap," he said appreciatively.

"Yeah, I know," said Ryan. "Our mom loves decorating for holidays. It's like, her passion."

"Some passion," Troy muttered, still staring in wonder at the gently swirling snow that was falling from the high, arched ceiling. He couldn't imagine someone going to that much trouble just to decorate an already spectacular house for Christmas. They weren't even Christian!

"Come on, people!" Sharpay shrieked from across the room. They had been so entranced by the bountiful decorations that they hadn't noticed that Sharpay had been steadily walking across the room, into what Troy hoped was the kitchen.

"Sorry!" Gabriella apologized and broke out into a run to catch up with the blonde. Ryan looked at Troy and shrugged. They kept up their slow pace instead of eagerly catching up to the other girls, like Sharpay must have wanted them to. Troy heard her heavy, irritated sigh and grimaced a little bit. He did not want to inflict the wrath of the Mountain Lion, as Chad still called Sharpay.

"Oooh!" Troy heard a giggle from ahead and stopped dead in his tracks.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Look up!" Sharpay commanded. "You too, Ryan!" Dreading what he would see, and knowing what it would most likely be, Troy raised his head. Just as he had expected, directly over his head hung a green plant, tied with a bright scarlet ribbon. Small, green-ish white berries were hanging along with the leaves.

"Mistletoe," he groaned.

"Mistletoe!" Gabriella yelled.

"Mistletoe," Ryan whispered.

"Well, get on with it!" Sharpay ordered with a malicious smile. "And no wimpy kisses on the cheek either!"

"Be men!" Gabriella egged them on.

"Gay men," Sharpay whispered in her ear.

With apprehension and a bit of loathing for Sharpay on his face, Troy turned around to face Ryan. The male Evans was as red as the ribbon that was tied onto the mistletoe. Troy supposed that his face must have been the same shade, if not a deeper red.

"Let's get on with it then," he said through gritted teeth.

"Why not," Ryan replied.

Hesitantly, the two boys leaned forward until their lips were almost touching. Then Ryan went the extra mile and actually kissed Troy. The first kiss lasted only a second, but as they were pulling away, red-faced and flushed, Sharpay yelled, "More! Kiss like men!"

Obeying his twin as always, Ryan kissed Troy again, this time with more passion and fervor. _I can't believe this…_ Troy was thinking, but his reaction was to kiss Ryan back. They were kissing like Gabriella had always wanted Troy to kiss her. Ryan thought he even felt Troy's tongue slide into his mouth before he pulled away quickly.

"God, was that good enough for you Sharpay?" Troy said grumpily, still embarrassed. The truth was that he had felt more from that single kiss than he had felt the entire time that he and Gabriella had been going out. There was some – and as cliché as it had sounded to him as he thought it – electricity to it, something he had never really felt with Gabriella. But he couldn't be feeling that with a _guy_! He wasn't gay, was he? He couldn't be. He'd gone out with girls before – he'd liked going out with girls! Well, he sort of had. Some of those girls had been incredibly annoying, rude, and idiotic. And he had liked hanging out with the guys… but that didn't mean anything! All guys liked hanging out with guys, didn't they?

"Now that your little show is over," Sharpay smirked. "Let's go into the den."

Not looking at each other at all, Ryan and Troy followed the two girls. Troy sped up to walk beside Gabriella; she wouldn't tease him too much about the kiss, he hoped.

The rest of the afternoon was fairly uneventful. The girls talked and gossiped, while the guys avoided even talking to each other at all. It was just too awkward. Sharpay drove him and Gabriella home, where Troy was once again utterly silent. When he was dropped off at home, feeling very much like a sixth grader going on a first date, Troy went straight to his room without even eating dinner. There was too much to think about.

The next day was the last day before Christmas break. Unlike last year, Troy and his family were not going to the skiing lodge. Gabriella and her mom, however, were going to go skiing in a different place. "It's our Christmas tradition," she explained to Troy. "But I'm going to Sharpay's Christmas party before we leave, and do you want to go too?"

"Sure…" he replied, even though seeing Ryan again would be incredibly awkward.

Seeing the house decked out even more, if that was possible, for the holiday party blew the guests' minds – heck, it looked like even Ryan, who actually lived there, was surprised at how festive it was. The fake snow was falling even more thickly than before, and the twinkling lights strung up on the walls were so bright that it left spots on everyone's eyes, like when someone took a picture with flash and the subject of the picture was left dazed with multicolored spots on their eyes. The rooms – the first, grand room and the first living room – were buzzing with conversation and thumping with the loud music – no sign of Broadway there, for once in Sharpay's life.

"Troy!" Someone grabbed Troy's arm from behind and turned him around.

"Oh, hey Gabriella," said Troy, smiling. Even though he had just arrived, his ears were already ringing from the loud volume. Thankfully, there had been no sign of Ryan yet.

"Oh look! There's Sharpay and Ryan, let's go talk to them!" yelled Gabriella and yanked Troy yet again. _Thanks so much, Gabriella,_ thought Troy sarcastically. Even though he would have liked to just run away and never talk to Ryan again, he went along with Gabriella, mostly because he didn't feel like walking around to find someone else to talk with.

"Hi guys!" said Sharpay brightly as they walked up.

"Hi Sharpay!" Gabriella hugged both of the twins. "The decorations are so amazing!"

"Just when I thought they couldn't get any more dramatic," said Ryan, rolling his eyes. Troy laughed out loud, surprising both himself, and by the look of it, Ryan as well.

"But who doesn't love more drama?" asked Sharpay, spreading her arms out wide and throwing her head back.

"Apparently, you," said Troy acerbically. Ryan snorted and Troy finally found the courage to look up at him without feeling nervous or, strangely, feeling butterflies in his stomach. They were a different sort from the kind of nervous tremors he got in his stomach before a big game – they were more anticipation than anxiety, more excitement than fear. He didn't know why he would be feeling that way; Ryan wasn't exactly someone he was nervous about meeting, like he was when he had first started going out with Gabriella. Troy tried to brush of the feelings, but they kept coming back.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to go for a sec," he said and left the little group quickly. Being by Ryan for any longer was not going to help his stomach. Maneuvering through the crowd, he found a sign that said in bold letters "Restrooms this way!" He followed the sings and finally came to an empty bathroom. He sat down on one of the toilets and rested his head in his hands. Maybe he should leave; this was getting weird with Ryan. Heaving a big sigh, he shook his head and stood up. Just then, he heard the sound of the door opening. Nevertheless, he went out of the stall – the Evans' even had stalls in their bathrooms! – and went to wash his hands.

"Oh, Troy," said the person that just came in. There was a definite air of surprise in his voice, and as Troy looked up, he was also surprised.

"Hi Ryan."

"Yeah…"

Not looking at his fellow bathroom-mate, Troy washed his hands in the porcelain sink. Mrs. Evans must have picked out the soap, he thought, because it smelled like roses and some of flower, and was a shade of pale pink. He wrinkled his nose.

"Nice soap," he said, just to make some conversation.

"Yeah, my dad's kind of obsessed with good smelling soap. Or what smells good to my mom at least," said Ryan.

"Oh. Your dad chooses the soap?"

"Like I said, he wants to please my mom." Ryan shrugged. A moment of silence befell them and Troy thought that it was possibly the most awkward three minutes that he had ever been through.

"Look, Ryan, I'm sorry about… you know, the other day with the mistletoe. I didn't mean for it to get carried away," said Troy in a rush.

"It's fine. No big deal," Ryan said, flapping his hand at Troy.

"I've never, like kissed a guy and it was awkward, I guess," confessed Troy, without really knowing why he was doing it. Why Ryan? He didn't know him all that well.

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

"Um," Troy stuttered, about to ask the most embarrassing question of his life. "Did you… you know, get anything from it?"

"What do you mean? Like in your pants?" Ryan gaped at Troy.

"No!" Troy blushed a little bit. "I mean, like, did you, you know, feel anything from it."

"Did you?"

"I asked you first."

The two boys stared at each other; neither one wanting to know what the other's answer was if it was going to be bad – in fact, they didn't even know which answer was bad anymore. Both sides had positives and negatives, and it was hard to balance the two.

"Why don't we try again then," Ryan said softly. Troy was startled; he wanted to… again?

"Um," answered Troy, but before he could try to finish his thought, Ryan leaned over and kissed him on the lips. It was a softer, sweeter, more tender kiss than before. This time, Troy was not so worried about everyone else; it was just Ryan and him and that kiss. And what a kiss it was. It was everything Troy had wanted from, well, just from someone, but he had never gotten it. And to think that it would be from Sharpay's little twin brother that would give him the best kiss of his life! Troy kissed Ryan back, a little more forcefully, but still keeping the quietness of the simple first – second, actually – kiss.

"Yeah, I think I felt something," Ryan whispered after they broke apart, smiling from ear to ear.

"Me too," Troy agreed, leaning over and kissing Ryan again. This time it was a full on make-out, with tongues, hands on the hips, and lots of passion.

"Holy crap," gasped Troy.

"What?" Ryan asked, leaning in for another kiss.

"We're guys!" Troy exclaimed. He pushed "We aren't supposed to be doing this!"

"Says who?"

"Well… everyone!"

"I don't say so, and aren't I the one who matters?" Ryan teased Troy. Smiling ruefully, Troy rolled his eyes and kissed his newly found boyfriend – if that was what they were. Only time would tell.

"You're right."

After some time more of kissing and making out – who can keep time when they do that? – Ryan pushed Troy away, a little regretfully.

"I guess we'd better get back," he said, pouting just a little bit.

"I guess so. We've got to face them sometime," said Troy regretfully.

"You don't mean, like telling them, do you?" asked Ryan worriedly.

"No. We'll leave that for another day," Troy reassured him. They left the bathroom, hand in hand for just a small while. But it was enough for them. Whatever happened after or during the party did not matter – Troy couldn't even remember the rest of the party. The only thing that was imprinted in his memory was those kisses in the bathroom. He hoped that more would come, and his hopes were granted. Christmas truly was the season of love that year – or at least the beginning of a love, for there was more yet to come.

* * *

These were OCP's requests for the story, and how I think I did with them.

**+ A kiss. Or, you know, a lot. **Yeah, you got that.

**+ Fluffy, nothing serious. **I don't normally write fluff, but I think it was pretty fluffy.

**+ Mistletoe. **Yep, there's some of that too.

**+ Snow! **Well, I doubt it would snow in New Mexico, so I had to have fake snow.

**+ Humor (crude is nice...).** Gosh, I don't know how I did with that! I don't normally write humor – sarcasm doesn't come out well on paper – and I don't write crude humor. I hope I did okay with that!

I got the Troy/Ryan in and it is a rating(OCP said any pairing is good).

Angst because I'm already depressed enough around the Holidays. No Gabriella being a whiny brat. No angst here. Gabriella was happy; I tried to make her come out of her shell a little bit in here.

So please review!


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